Antiquing with Baba Booey: Stern sidekick gets new VH1 Classic show

Neil Vigdor

Updated 10:37 pm, Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Gary Dell'Abate's sits in his "man cave" and hugs his Murphy, his dog, in his house, Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate's sits in his "man cave" and hugs his Murphy, his dog, in his house, Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate's sits in his "man cave," and hugs his Murphy, his dog, in his house, Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate stands by his jukebox in his "man cave" in his house, in Greenwich, Monday, Feb.18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate's has a "man cave" in his house, in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate has a group of Jet helmets in his "man cave" in his house, in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate's has a "man cave" in his house, in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Murphy, Gary Dell'Abate's dog, sits on a sofa in their "man cave", in his house, in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate looks at his antique Coca-Cola cooler while Murphy, his dog, watches, at the "man cave", in Greenwich, Conn. Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate looks at his antique Coca-Cola cooler while Murphy,...

Gary Dell'Abate shows where to insert coins in a 1950s-edition Coca-Cola machine that is part of his collection of pop culture memorabilia, in his Old Greenwich, Conn., home Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate has a "man cave" that had sport art in his cave at his house, in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Bally Eight Ball, Gary Dell'Abate's favorite pin ball game growing up, is part of his "man cave" in his Old Greenwich, Conn., home Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Autographed bats, including one signed by "hit king" Peter Rose, fill a display case in the Old Greenwich, Conn., home of Gary Dell'Abate, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

A leather recliner from the VIP seating area at Shea Stadium and a Rock-Ola Comet 120 jukebox highlight a trove of music and sports memorabilia owned by Gary Dell'Abate in his Old Greenwich, Conn., home. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate, behind the bar of his "man cave" in his Old Greenwich, Conn., home Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, displays a set of stamps commemorating baseball's centennial in 1939 autographed by Joe DiMaggio. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."

A wooden radio and vintage microphones adorn a mantle in the Old Greenwich, Conn., living room of Gary Dell'Abate Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

An antique gramophone stands in the living room of Gary Dell'Abate, in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

An antique gramophone stands in the living room of Gary Dell'Abate,...

Gary Dell'Abate keeps music in the attic in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate keeps music in the attic in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate keeps art in the attic in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Gary Dell'Abate looks at records in the attic in Greenwich, Conn., Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
Gary Dell'Abate, the longtime Howard Stern sidekick and Old Greenwich resident, is co-host of a new VH1 Classic show on music and pop culture memorabilia called "For What It's Worth."
Photo: Helen Neafsey

It's a cross between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cooperstown, only with two beer taps.

There's an autographed check -- isn't that a redundancy -- from Ralph Kiner, the New York Mets legend and fellow Greenwich resident.

Seats from Shea Stadium. Infield dirt from Yankee Stadium -- the old one.

A Victrola.

And then there is a Rock-Ola Comet 120 jukebox, which the Howard Stern sidekick nicknamed "Baba Booey" bought off a man in Danbury for $2,100.

It didn't come with nickels, dimes or quarters. Doesn't matter, as Dell'Abate demonstrates how to rig it for free songs, the first being "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," followed by the Beatles "Help!"

"Believe it or not, I got it off Craigslist," Dell'Abate said. "That was one of the things I wanted my entire life."

Dell'Abate, 51, is putting his obsession for collecting vinyl records, autographed baseballs, cartoon cells and photos, which fill every nook and cranny of his home, to use in a new television series on VH1 Classic.

"For What It's Worth" will make its debut at 10 p.m. Thursday, with Dell'Abate co-hosting the half-hour show with fellow Stern disciple Jon Hein, himself an avid collector of pop culture memorabilia.

The show is VH1 Classic's answer to "Antiques Roadshow," the popular PBS series in which appraisers travel the country and help collectors determine the value of their antiques.

"The whole point is we're collectors and hoarders," Dell'Abate said.

Dell'Abate, who is married with two sons and serves on the town parks board, taped six episodes of the show last summer while he was on vacation from Stern. He spent part of each show traveling around the country with Hein in search of one-of-a-kind collections of music or pop culture history.

The duo went to a Pittsburgh warehouse to meet with a man who owns 3.75 million records. They visited an arcade game collection in Harrisburg and interviewed White Stripes co-founder Jack White at his Nashville record production facility.

Their tour also took them to a private collector in New Jersey who owns Barbara Eden's genie outfit from "I Dream of Jeannie," Archie Bunker's hat from "All in the Family," and the Fonz's leather jacket from "Happy Days."

"I hope to do a second season," Dell'Abate said. "I hope to get even more of the lunatic collectors coming out of the woodwork."

Much like "Antiques Roadshow," Dell'Abate and Hein spent part of each episode at a Brooklyn, N.Y., warehouse sizing up the memorabilia of collectors, aided by a panel of experts.

"You know, I've done a lot of shows that are, for lack of a better word, the `Antique Roadshows,' but there's something about him and Jon that makes it better than a lot of these shows," Reznikoff said of Dell'Abate. "These guys are professional comedians. Not only are they professional comedians, but they're both very knowledgeable in the world of professional memorabilia."

Dell'Abate and Hein visited Reznikoff's office in Westport during one of the episodes.

In his living room, Dell'Abate keeps an antique Philco wooden radio that still works.

"It's weird when WFAN is coming out of it, but it's fun when it's a big band station," he said, referring to the sports talk station.

One of Dell'Abate's most prized possessions is a cartoon cell presented to him by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera from their series, "Quick Draw McGraw," depicting the main character and a Mexican burro named Baba Looey, which Dell'Abate once misidentified on Stern's show as Baba Booey, a moniker that stuck with the shock jock's sidekick ever since.